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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26322274">Finding the Link</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveradept/pseuds/silveradept'>silveradept</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>D-Links, Gen, Minor Kairi/Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Sparring</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:02:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,071</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26322274</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveradept/pseuds/silveradept</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kairi is tired of being the least powerful  of the trio, the one who everyone reaches to protect, instead of letting her fight. Aqua shows her how to draw on the strength of others in combat to show her that Kairi is farther along the pathway than she thinks.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aqua &amp; Kairi (Kingdom Hearts)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Press Start VI</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Finding the Link</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serie11/gifts">Serie11</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The clash of Keyblades rang in the air, but Kairi found herself being pushed aside from her target. Master Aqua was already pivoting to catch her follow-up attack, beating Kairi's blade into the dirt before retreating to another ready position.</p><p>"Good work, Kairi," Aqua said, stepping back to avoid Kairi's next thrust. "You're swinging with your body more." Aqua counterattacked with a fast swing that Kairi was ready to block, but she felt the impact of the hit all the way to her shoulders. Aqua didn't usually strike that hard when they were sparring.</p><p>Kairi jumped back and slung her Keyblade to try and get some distance between them, but Aqua knocked it up into the air and closed on Kairi, giving her barely enough time to block the worst of it before getting thrown onto her back from the shock.</p><p>Kairi stood up and shook off the sand, scowling.</p><p>"What's bothering you, Kairi?" Aqua asked gently.</p><p>Kairi smoothed her face before catching a glimpse of Sora and Riku sparring with Terra and Ventus. Sparks, flames, crystals, flashy moves, and outfit changes happened regularly as Kairi took in the scene.</p><p>"That," she said, waving her hand in the direction of the spar. "When all of them are being pushed, they have something in reserve. Another form, another technique, some secret reserve of power to tap. I'm having trouble with just you, and you're not even trying."</p><p>"Sora and Riku are…self-taught," Aqua said. "Much like Terra and Ven, they forged their own pathways."</p><p>"It looks like that's the way to go if you want power," Kairi grumbled.</p><p>"And an entire set of bad habits that have to be unlearned," Aqua added, smiling.</p><p>Kairi looked at her quizzically.</p><p>"Normally, attainment of Keyblade Mastery comes from a long course of study of the physical and mental aspects," Aqua said. "Most people don't acquire their abilities so…haphazardly."</p><p>Kairi laughed.</p><p>"Also," Aqua said, "I think a lot of what you see as Sora's abilities come from all of the connections to other hearts he has."</p><p>"So if I had gone on all of the adventures he had, instead of being told I was to valuable to risk and hidden away, I'd be as strong as he is?" Kairi asked sourly.</p><p>"I hope to train you better than that," Aqua said.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>Aqua sighed. "Master Xehanort's plan to connect to Sora's heart and make him a vessel would have worked perfectly, if Riku hadn't saved him. Sora's friends are his strength, but he's used them in very dangerous ways."</p><p>"So how are you supposed to use them?" Kairi asked.</p><p>This time Aqua laughed. "When you are connected to someone else, sometimes your Keyblade changes, and sometimes you can use the strength of someone else. Do you want to see?"</p><p>Kairi nodded.</p><p>Aqua and Kairi took up their stances across from each other.</p><p>"I'm going to switch between using Terra's style and Ven's," Aqua said. "Do you remember what to do?"</p><p>Kairi nodded. "Avoid Terra, block Ven," she replied. Kairi had learned, along with Sora and Riku, that Terra's strikes could not be endured more than once, maybe twice, and so the best option for sparring with him was to avoid having to block at all. Ventus, on the other hand, embodied the winds themselves, never standing still for more than a moment, but his flurries could at least be endured.</p><p>Aqua concentrated for a moment, showing Kairi her Keyblade lengthening to match the long blades Terra used to complement his already impressive reach, before shifting her positioning to resemble Terra's low stance. </p><p>"Ready?"</p><p>"Ready."</p><p>Aqua swung in an upward arc at Kairi, who barely stepped to the side to avoid it, the wind of the swing whistling by her face. Kairi realized that Aqua using Terra's strength didn't mean she was slowing down that much. To keep up with Aqua-Terra, Kairi realized she would have to find some extra speed.</p><p>As she whirled away from Aqua's two-handed swings, Kairi thought about how hard it was for her to hit Axel when they were first learning to use their Keyblades. He'd almost skated around her effortlessly, his feet dancing lightly around the ring, rarely needing to block anything as he told her about his life as Lea before becoming one of Organization XIII.</p><p>"Got it memorized." Kairi said, recalling his favorite phrase. Her Keyblade lit up with a red glow and she felt lighter and swifter, dodging Aqua's strikes faster and poking at her to try and counterattack. Aqua batted away Kairi's attacks occasionally, mostly letting Kairi swing at the space where she had been, content to stay defensive as Kairi tried to get around her or at least force her into an awkward situation. Kairi's frustration continued to build as she seemed to be making no headway against Aqua until it boiled over. Her Keyblade lit fully on fire as Kairi slashed, thrust, and launched fireballs against Aqua in a fury flurry. Most of Kairi's attacks missed the mark, but those that were on target Aqua blocked or redirected so they feel harmlessly around her.</p><p>"Good," Aqua said encouragingly and spun her Keyblade to match Ventus's reverse grip. Kairi felt a breeze picking up as the flames on her Keyblade fluttered. Axel's fire and light-footedness would be extinguished by Ventus's breeze, so she needed to think of someone else who could stand strong in the face of a thousand cuts. She thought of the stories of the other members of Organization XIII that Sora and Riku had told her about, but even if she had <em>heard</em> about Lexaeus's connection to the earth, she hadn't been around him enough to properly <em>understand</em> it. She'd only been training with Terra for a little while, or Kairi would have thought to use the same thing that Aqua had just used against her in return. She'd known Riku long enough to forge a connection, and her love for him was obvious to anyone who looked, but when she thought of him, she couldn't wrap her mind around the deep connection to darkness that Riku had to use his power.</p><p>The breeze rippled Kairi's hair in a wave, she caught a glimpse of the ocean around Destiny Island, and a stray fragment of an argument between Sora and Riku replayed itself in her head. They'd been arguing about what elements were stronger, Sora insisting that windstorms could do more damage than fires, at least on the island. Kairi had seen the breeze ripple over the water, had thought about tidal waves, and quietly concluded that water was stronger than both of them, not that she'd wanted to get embroiled in that discussion. The solution to how to withstand Ventus was standing in front of her all along.</p><p>Destiny's Embrace began to shift to more resemble Spellweaver as Kairi felt her feet settle down from the airy flames of Axel into something both rooted and flexible. Aqua-Ventus lunged and Kairi turned the blade aside, shifting herself a little to keep Aqua in front of her. Aqua smiled at Kairi, and only the barest of movements of her wrist preceded the blade flashing in front of Kairi's face. Kairi realized she was being baited right after she moved her Keyblade toward blocking the flash and brought the blade back toward her ready position, just in time for Aqua's real attack to crash into the base of her Keyblade, pushing Kairi with it. Her upper body reeled, but Kairi held her feet steady and traced a tight spiral with them, leaving her properly positioned to knock Aqua's blade into the sand as it came for her again. Again and again, Aqua swung and thrust at Kairi, bending her, pushing her into weak positions, threatening to rip the Keyblade out of her hands with her strikes, and each time Kairi went with the motion, letting the energy from the wind wash over her, batter her hips and arms, but only making small adjustments to her feet and returning, as much as was possible  in the face of Aqua's attempts, to the ready state the Keyblade Masters had taught her was the foundation of combat, ready for the next attack. </p><p>Kairi realized too slowly that Aqua had stopped battering her. Feeling the sizzle in the air, Kairi reached for the barrier spell she had seen Aqua cast a hundred times, calling it to mind and getting it out a moment before a lightning bolt crashed down onto where she was. While the lightning reflected away from Kairi back into the heavens, the shock wave of the strike flattened her completely.</p><p>"<em>Very</em> well done, Kairi," Aqua said encouragingly, offering her a hand back up. "It usually takes some time before someone can cast spells from the person they're linked to. That spell barrier is difficult to cast, even after you have a grasp of everything that goes into it."</p><p>"Did you feel what happened?" Kairi asked, taking Aqua's hand and slowly getting back up to her feet. She flailed and grabbed Aqua more fully as her first attempt at a step dropped her back to a knee instead.</p><p>Aqua smiled. "Yes, I could feel the link."</p><p>"Did I hurt you?" Kairi asked, looking up at Aqua.</p><p>"I should be asking you that," Aqua said, looking into Kairi's eyes for signs of exhaustion or a concussion. "Are you okay?"</p><p>"I'm fine," Kairi said, giving Aqua a wan smile. "More importantly, did I do it correctly?"</p><p>"How did it feel to you?" Aqua asked, turning the question back on Kairi.</p><p>"It felt like I was connected to something deep," Kairi said. "That I could move if I wanted to, but if I didn't, then nothing could make me."</p><p>Aqua nodded. "And what about the other connection?"</p><p>"It felt like I could fly if I wanted to, and nothing could catch me as I burnt up the sky."</p><p>Aqua hummed. "I'll want to talk with you more about that, but it can wait until after you've had some time to rest." She took a couple steps back from Kairi.</p><p>"Why not now?" Kairi asked. "Isn't everyone—"</p><p>"Coming through!" Sora yelled, rocketing between Kairi and Aqua.</p><p>"Good seeing you!" Ventus called, hot on Sora's heels, generating a breeze that ruffled Kairi's hair as he flew by.</p><p>"Good sparring work!" Riku said, determination on his face as he chased the other two.</p><p>"<em>Get back here!</em>" Terra shouted as he whooshed past, leaving a trail of darkness that dissipated shortly.</p><p>"Nevermind," Kairi said. She looked at Aqua, who didn't have a hair out of place and was half-smiling at what had just happened. "How can you tell when they're coming?" Kairi demanded.</p><p>"They're very loud, if you know how to listen," Aqua said serenely.</p><p>"<em>That</em> seems like a very useful skill to learn," Kairi said. "Will you teach it to me?"</p><p>"Eventually," Aqua said, closing the distance between them again. "Master Eraqus always claimed he held something back from his students, just to maintain that aura of mystery and awe."</p><p>"I would much prefer to know when someone has put a spider in the wrong bed," Kairi said. "Or the right one."</p><p>"I agree," Aqua said, before letting out a sigh. "So much pain because of secrets." In the distance, bright flashes and the sounds of Keyblades clashing indicated the end of the chase. "Maybe this time we can find a way for everyone."</p><p>"Maybe," Kairi said. "Right now, I think I'd like to hear more about Master Eraqus."</p><p>Aqua nodded and smiled. "We should probably keep an eye on them, just in case," she said, indicating the combat going on in the distance. "But along the way, I'll tell you about Eraqus and Xehanort and what I remember of them."</p><p>Aqua began to describe a series of increasingly-improbable games that Master Eraqus used to play with Master Xehanort when they were younger, with boards and pieces that would change on a whim and rules that only seemed to make sense to both of them. Between Aqua's stories and the battles unfolding in front of them, Kairi finally felt a little more like she belonged, and that she was finally beginning to make progress on working her way up to the same level of flash and strength that the others had, through the connections she made and maintained with all of the important people in her life. It felt nice to belong.</p>
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